Farmers continue to fear the spread of Schmallenberg (SBV), a virus that causes abortions and deformities in lambs and calves, with the most recent Department of Agriculture figures showing a huge spike in testing.

“In the lab we’re getting submissions from all over the country, and we’re seeing an increase in SBV cases across the beef, dairy and sheep sectors,” vet John Gilmore of FarmLab in Roscommon told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“Worryingly, we’re also seeing an increase in bulk tanks testing positive for SBV antibodies.”

The most recent Department figures up until mid-April show a 33% jump in sheep testing positive for SBV compared to the same period last year, with 40 confirmed cases.

Bovine cases

The number of confirmed bovine cases decreased by three, with just nine confirmed cases, but bovine testing for SBV jumped by 70%.

Some farmers have lost up to a third of their lambs due to SBV this year.

“I recently had to do a caesarean on a cow because the calf was deformed with SBV,” Gilmore said.

“The farmer had to deal not only with the loss of the calf but the trauma to the cow as well.”

“The midge transmits the disease between animals and even though you get a strong immunity for animals that have been bitten in the herd, you still have other animals that haven’t been exposed who are vulnerable and could contract it the following year.”

Gilmore believes that the only effective way to tackle the disease is through vaccination, but the vaccination for SBV is not currently available in the Republic of Ireland.

It is available to farmers in the UK, including Northern Ireland, where the virus has spread to all six counties with 29 confirmed SBV cases in sheep this year.

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